"A Rose for Emily" is a good example of horror which contains no supernatural elements. While pieces of the story contain the unusual or violate societal taboos the story conforms very much to the way in which we think the world operates. The reader could easily imagine that this story might really have occurred at some time. While the realism of the story makes it more plausible to the reader, it also lessens its effectiveness. The idea of a woman lying down next to a dead body for decades is revolting, but not very horrific. No sense of dread is imposed upon the reader, and the only visceral response is one of disgust. While the piece in effective at entertaining the reader, it lacks the ability to truly inspire horror.

Dahl's "A Man from the South" also lacks the ability to impress a sense of terror and dread on the reader. Like "A Rose for Emily" the story is entertaining, but the reader is not really terrified by any of the events that happen in it. There is a slight sense in revulsion at the idea of collecting human fingers but there is no overall sense of doom in the story.

What is it about the supernatural that lends itself so effectively to the horror genre? The truth is that it is a combination of factors, which come to play in different stories. In a tale such as "Nyarlathotep" the role of the supernatural is to impress upon the reader images and ideas which would not exist in the natural world, to horrify through that which is unknown and evil. This is one of the primary roles that the supernatural fills in the horror genre, being a vehicle to allow the author to create images and events in which the reader is left to his or her imagination as to what the dreaded thing is. Soley relying on natural events and occurrences allows the reader to build from his or her own experiences a reasonable idea of what is happening, and that which is familiar or at least known is less horrific. "A Rose for Emily" shows this well, for while Faulkner does not outright say what went on between Ms. Emily and her deceased love, it is easy for the reader to come to a definite conclusion about what went on. In "The Call of Cthulu" however the reader cannot exactly tell what will happen nor f

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